Maxine
Bristow
Monday 28th April 2003
When you are limited to snatching the
odd day where and when you can in between the load of full
time teaching, the prospect of three weeks vacation stretching
out before you can seem an endless period of time and such
a welcomed indulgence! Having just come to an end, you realise
how quickly it passes and how little you seem to get done!
The first week of the vacation I was still occupied with College
business, but the second couple of weeks I have managed to
spend in the studio. I suppose in reality I have done quite
a lot [something that I am more acutely aware of having kept
a daily record for my personal journal] it is just that there
seems to be little hard evidence, as much of the time has
been spent testing and trying and making practical and aesthetic
judgements in response to the nuances of material, tone, scale,
proportion etc.
It was my intention at the beginning
of the vacation to pursue three areas of practical enquiry:
1. the freestanding handrail/barrier forms.
2. looking at surface mounted light-switches, exploring casting
as a process, with the idea of having canvas work inserts
where the actual switch would be.
3. looking at surface mounted conduits with and the idea that
the ‘saddles’ which fix the conduits to the wall
could be worked in fine canvas work.
Free standing
handrails/barriers
As it had taken me over a year to complete the stitching
for one of the column handrails for the Jerwood exhibition,
I was aware that if I was again to use the technique of canvas-work,
that I would have to begin stitching as soon as possible!
However, before I could address the upholstered/stitched element,
I would have to make decisions about the overall form of the
piece and work out the construction and the measurements of
the supporting wooden frame. I began by mocking up the barrier
in odd bits of timber and card in order to try and envisage
what it might look like and to try and judge scale and proportion.
Having made decisions about the size of the finished piece
and the scale of the timber sections, it was a case of working
out how to construct the top upholstered rail. I made three
versions before I resolved the proportions and the practicalities
of this. What I also needed to address was how the stitched
element might work. Ideally I would like the whole of the
upholstered element covered with canvas-work stitched in one
colour but the practicalities make this totally unfeasible,
so it is my intention to stitch panels of canvas-work spaced
with panels of fabric. Decisions had to be made about the
proportions of the striped panels, the tone of the wool, the
type and tone of the fabric, and the type of stitch to use.
I sampled both gobelin stitch and tent stitch. I am drawn
to the semiotics of tent stitch and the fact that it is more
recognisable as what is commonly understood to be tapestry,
but on an aesthetic level I found that I still preferred the
gobelin stitch that I had used for the column handrail pieces
in the Jerwood exhibition. Having made these decisions I ordered
£65 worth of tapestry wool, only to find that the dye
lot of the wool differed considerably form the wool I had
been using to sample with, and on the basis of which I had
made all other decisions! In the long term I would like to
make at least six of the freestanding barriers [so that they
could be variously arranged to articulate the space of the
gallery], however, the practicality of time means that for
this project I can only really hope to complete one. The feasibility
of using the technique of canvas-work for projects of an ambitious
scale is a real dilemma and to this end I really need to think
about finding ways of developing the ideas of the kits and
the possibilities of collaboration, but the research and project
management involved in this would in itself be considerable,
so for now I will just have to get stitching!
Light-switches/conduits
Over and above the practicalities, the main issue
here is how close do I make the references within the work?
Do I cast pieces which to all extent and purposes look like
real light-switches, and if I do this why not just use the
fixtures and fittings themselves? Do I make an intervention
with real space [although site-specific work is out of the
question because the exhibition will be touring], or do I
make work, which though references real light-switches, is
more abstract in nature. If the work falls somewhere between
the two will it fail on both counts? Accordingly, decisions
had to be made about the nature, size and scale of the light-switch
box, the conduits, the saddle fixes [the things which attach
the conduit to the wall], the spacing between the boxes, and
the aesthetics and practicalities of the fixing. If the boxes
were to be cast, how was I to cast them, and what materials
would I use? I had resourced plaster, white concrete, white
and kiln dried sand and various aggregates such as fine granite
chippings [as used in model railways] and various grades of
carburundum powder. I have to date made 10 sample casts and
have still not resolved the problem! The stitched element
would possibly be in the form of inserts within the cast light-switch
boxes and stitched saddle fixes. Will cast light-switch boxes
and stitched saddles be too much? I am envisaging that the
cast light-switch boxes will possibly constitute one set of
work and that there will be another set which employs the
stitched saddles. Through a process of sampling I have had
to address issues such as the thickness and type of wool,
the count of the canvas, the type of stitch, the type of screw
fixes, how to make the inserts, and what has been the cause
of most problems, how to construct the saddles. I want the
saddles to be small scale and fairly discreet but at the same
time I need a large enough stitched surface area. In making
decisions about scale, it was interesting to note what difference
2mm for example on either the width or the length could make.
The pieces have to be bound in some way, but the nature of
this bound edge tends to dominate the stitched element by
reducing the surface area and also gives rise to all kinds
of technical problems when realised on such a small scale.
In addition to this there is the issue of finding an equivalent
for the screws which fix the saddles to the wall where screws
themselves don’t seem to work and where alternatives
such as covered buttons are too large and clumsy and again
tend to overpower what it is that I intend to be the focus
of the work which is the fine canvas work.
So at the end
of this more intensive period in the studio I have made progress
but there are still many issues which need addressing before
I can say that I know what I am doing and actually begin to
make the work. The development of barrier pieces has come
to a halt whilst I resolve the problem with the wool, and
I have to find a supplier of hard wood and learn how to make
mortise and tennon joints!! I have more of an idea of how
the light-switch and conduit pieces may look, but again there
are a number of material and technical details which still
need to be sorted out.
top
Kyoko Nitta -
April
In Japan the school year begins in April,
so April is the busiest month for those who work in schools.
I am teaching five days a week at several different schools
as a part-time teacher and April makes me feel a little nervous
because we start new classes. Time flies. I feel so far from
the days I spent in the UK last month. I have so much to prepare
for my classes everyday, and, on top of everything else, I
have begun to learn English at the British Council. I take
lessons for four and a half hours every week, plus some homework
as well. If I could have even two hours extra each day, it
would be so easy for me. A few days ago, when I came back
from my English lessons after work, I saw a parcel in front
of my flat. I recognised Maxine's handwriting on the surface.
The arrival of the parcel from her reminds me of my days in
Chester. I appreciate Maxine’s concern about the fabric,
knowing that I wanted to receive it as soon as possible. I
have to make some parts for our collaboration before I go
back to the UK again. I should really start at the end of
April or the beginning of May at least.
Many of the artists who are involved
in this project seem to begin their collaborations around
this time. The first UK artist to come to Japan is Anniken
Amundsen. The day after she arrived in Kyoto, I met her at
the conference for crafts people from Japan and UK. I look
forward to see her again sometime soon.
top
|
